While these posts are whimsical and a bit unhinged, the baby boomers may be the last generation to be digitally inept. While the future elderly might not be on the cutting edge of technology, basic digital and technical literacy will be present from the first memories one has when growing up.
There are already companies working on technology to help older people stay connected, stay safe and keep in touch. Rehabilitative technology is becoming more commonplace, which comes with more skill to interact with devices, which, in turn, helps a person understand the difference between sending a DM and posting a comment. The technology that has been developed to help people recover from injuries is slowly being adapted for older people to use.
In comparison to digital natives, old people in 2023 have to be categorized as digital immigrants. The technology that we use daily, which you are also using to read this, came about later in their life. Researchers note that there is an “accent” between people who were born after the widespread adoption of the internet and people who have only started to explore it relatively recently.
While we do describe the internet, social media, and other digital technologies as recent, which they are in the grand scheme of things, they have still been around for over two decades and at this point, many people have years of experience with them. One study conducted in Canada found that the majority of the cohort between the ages of 65-74 used the internet a few times a month over the last few years.
It’s worth noting that among “digital natives,” internet use is not uniform at all. Millennials will use the internet more as a resource, for information, study, and professional purposes, while one study of Hong Kong youths found that, in contrast to the millennials, Gen Z prefers to socialize and consume content online, but has fewer “practical” uses for the internet. Unfortunately, the internet habits of Baby Boomers need more research.
Despite technology uses varying across cohorts and locations, most places do recognize that digital tech is here to stay. So the posts here may end up as a sort of relic of a bygone era, as educational institutions and workplaces worldwide see technology as absolutely necessary to work and study. As such, children are accessing the internet at a younger age and being taught how to use it and navigate in a digital world.
#16 Not Facebook, But I Found An Old Screenshot From The First Time My Grandma Messaged Me. I Love Her
